As his 7-year-old son lies in a hospital bed, all Andreas Hauke can do is sit next to the boy, hold his hand and wait.

Hauke's only child, Noel, on Dec. 22 was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare and aggressive cancer that causes rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in bone marrow and prevent the body from producing regular blood cells.

Noel was flown from his family's home in Alamogordo to the Children's Hospital at Providence in El Paso to begin chemotherapy on Christmas Eve.

Andreas Hauke, a captain in the German Air Force who instructs fighter jet pilots, is stationed at Holloman Air Force Base. The family, originally from northern Germany, moved to Alamogordo in late 2009.

"The kind he has is more aggressive, and normally the type of leukemia adults get," Andreas Hauke said. "Only 10 percent of children that have leukemia have this kind."

Because chemotherapy destroys platelets and cancerous cells indiscriminately, the boy requires two blood platelet transfusions a day, his father said.

This has caused a dire situation because Noel Hauke has the rare type O-negative blood and can receive only the same blood type, doctors said.

Providence Memorial has had a shortage of O-negative blood donations, said Syed Hafeez, director of pathology and transfusion medicine at Providence Memorial.

"O-negative is always in short supply because it's a rare blood type," Hafeez said.

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"It's a universal donor because everybody can receive O-negative blood."

The El Paso area lacks O-negative blood supplies. A small percentage of the majority Hispanic population has that blood type, said Sergio Carrasco, the El Paso regional center director of United Blood Services, a nonprofit community blood center.

"Only 3 percent of Hispanics are O-negative," Carrasco said. "Nationally, donors are mostly O-negative, but in our community we struggle to keep up with O-negative demand. The usage is higher than what the population can donate."

Platelet donations can't be shipped because the fragile material is no longer effective about four days after being drawn, Carrasco said.

Also proving to be a problem is that nearby German colleagues and friends of the Haukes can't offer their platelets because of restrictions on blood donations from people who cumulatively have spent more than six months in Germany.

"It's a permanent deferral because of the mad-cow disease outbreak that happened in Europe," Carrasco said. "That's a big issue we encounter from folks in the military and people that travel abroad."

Andreas Hauke said he was an exception because his platelets were going to his son. He and his wife, Ramona, are O-negative, but platelet donations can be made at most only every three days.

The father spent about two hours on Friday afternoon hooked up to a machine that extracted platelets from his blood, giving his son a chance at survival.

After media reports about Noel Hauke, calls from people wanting to donate platelets flooded the Children's Hospital at Providence. More than 200 people on Friday left messages at the hospital wanting to help.

In response, United Blood Services will have a mobile unit collecting blood platelet donations in the parking lot of the hospital, 2001 N. Oregon, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

"From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone involved in helping little Noel fight for his life," the hospital posted on its Facebook page. "We are proud to be a part of such a loving, generous community."

The Haukes are urging people of all blood types, but especially those with O-negative, to donate.

Once the boy's condition is stable, Andreas Hauke plans to take his son back to Germany for further treatment so he can be closer to family, he said. Doctors told the Haukes it's likely that Noel will need a bone marrow transplant.

Flashes of their son's innocence and personality that come through the nausea, exhaustion and pain of chemotherapy give the Haukes hope.

"He's losing his hair right now and he asked why," Andreas Hauke said. "After we told him it was because of the chemo, he asked if it would grow back someday."

When his parents said yes, the boy responded simply, "Oh, OK."

On days without chemotherapy sessions, Noel walks through the intensive care unit and even cracks a few jokes, his father said.

"He's a very happy kid," Andreas Hauke said.

"He's still very tough and very brave. Even as parents we are surprised how he reacts to the stuff he is going through. I think children are sometimes more brave than adults. I'm very proud of him."

Hayley Kappes may be reached at hkappes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168.

Noel Hauke

How to help

United Blood Services will have a mobile unit at the Children's Hospital at Providence Memorial collecting platelet donations for Noel Hauke from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. The unit will be in the front parking lot of the hospital, 2001 N. Oregon.

For questions, call the hospital at 577-6011.

People must specify whether they want to direct the donation to Noel. Noel has type O-negative blood and can receive only the same blood type.

To donate blood during the week, call Robin Murphy with the blood center at Providence Hospital at 577-6676. The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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